This invention relates to a method and system for operating a bingo game on the internet.
In the prior art, various methods and systems for playing bingo over a wide geographic area have been proposed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,970, issued to Fioretti, there is shown and described a system for enabling bingo to be played over a wide geographic area. The system described in Fioretti ""970 comprises means for issuing game card arrays in response to purchase requests (this means includes a point of sale terminal and a system base station means for issuing valid game card arrays); means for keeping track of all game card arrays issued in response to the purchase requests; means for sequencing through each bingo game on a scheduled bingo session; and means for communicating over a wide geographic area the sequence of random symbols being generated during a particular bingo game. This method enables players over a wide geographic area to participate in a bingo session.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,083, which also issued to Fioretti, there is shown and described a system and method for playing bingo over a wide geographic area, comprising: an on-line point of sale terminal means for issuing valid game card arrays; means for keeping track of all game card arrays; means for sequencing through each bingo game in a scheduled bingo session; and means for communicating over a wide geographic area the sequence of random symbols being generated during a particular bingo game. In alternative embodiments, the system of Fioretti ""083 further provides a communication path for allowing a game participant to interact with the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,911, which again issued to Fioretti, shows and describes a method and system for enabling bingo and similar games of chance to be played in real time at locations which are geographically separated from the locations where the numbers used to play a bingo type of game are being selected.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,069, which issued to Solteaz et al., there is shown and described a system comprising a central site PC with gaming control controlling a gaming event, a private Wide Area Network (xe2x80x9cWANxe2x80x9d) connected to the central site PC, and at least one participation site with at least one participant and a participation site PC. Each cental site PC communicates video and non-video information of the gaming event to each participation site PC through the WAN. Furthermore, each participation site PC communicates information regarding the participation of the participants in the gaming event to the central site PC through the WAN.
While the prior art methods and systems teach how the game of bingo and similar games of chance can be played interactively over a wide geographic area, one disadvantage is that they fail to address the problem of ensuring fairness for all players playing the game when some players have an unfair advantage in terms of network connection speed and access.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of operating a bingo game using a game server on a network and a plurality of remote game client computers, comprising:
(a) providing a plurality of unique game cards and enabling a plurality of players to each purchase at least one unique game card by using a remote game client computer, at least one purchased card is a winning game card;
(b) suspending the purchase of game cards;
(c) after step (b), generating numbers to obtain a sequence of calls;
(d) applying the sequence of calls to each purchased game card and identifying the at least one winning game card;
(e) after step (d), transmitting the sequence of calls applied in step (d) to each remote game client computer which has been used to purchase at least one game card; and,
(f) on each remote game client computer, repeating the sequence of calls applied in step (d) until the at least one winning game card is identified.
In one embodiment, the method further includes the step of including with the transmitted sequence of calls the identity of the at least one winning game card.
In another embodiment, the method further includes the step of coding the sequence of calls and the identity of the at least one winning game card prior to transmitting said sequence of calls and identity of the at least one winning game card to each remote client computer.
In another embodiment, the method further includes the step of coding the sequence of calls prior to transmitting said sequence of calls to each remote client computer.
In yet another embodiment, step (f) comprises repeating each number in the sequence of calls at specified intervals until the at least one winning game card is called.
In another embodiment, in step (e), the transmitting of the sequence of calls and the identity of the at least one winning game to said remote game client computers is asynchronous.
In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of synchronizing the start of the sequence of calls on said remote game client computers with a start signal issued by the game server.
In yet another embodiment, in step (e), the transmitting of the sequence of calls to said remote game client computers is asynchronous.
In another embodiment, the method further includes the step of synchronizing the start of the sequence of calls on said remote game client computers with a start signal issued by the game server.
In another embodiment, the method further includes the step of selecting a game pattern and generating a plurality of game cards.
In another embodiment, the plurality of game cards are first generated before the purchase of the cards is enabled.
In yet another embodiment the game cards are generated as they are purchased.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a system for simulating a real time bingo game on a network, including a game server connected to a network and comprising:
(i) a purchase order processor for processing purchase orders for game cards from remote game client computers;
(ii) a generator for generating a sequence of calls;
(iii) a processor for applying the sequence of calls to purchased game cards and determining at least one winning game card; and
(iv) a network connection for transmitting at the same time the sequence of calls to at least one remote game client computer.
In one embodiment, the system further includes a storage device for storing at least one of said purchased game cards, said sequence of calls, and the at least one winning game card information.